One day, Parvati asked Shiva, “Tell me Swami, what is this thing about the Shivlinga being your
representation?”
Shiva smiled. “The Shivlinga means many things at many realms, each true for that level of subtlety. It is a symbolic representation of absolute transcendence, Omkaar, the impersonal God leading to esoteric and spiritual understanding.”
“I see.”
“Whereas, in my Yogi roop,” Shiva continued, “Worshipers consider the immanence of God personified; the personal God, you know, the one with all the stories and folklore they sing of.”
“Yes. You are One storied person!” said Sati.
“The Shivlinga means to convey that the transcendent pervades the manifest world as immanence,” Shiva continued.
“Oh,” said Sati.
“It is how the ancient rishis conceived God in His unborn, invisible form as the Shiva Lingam. It is worshipped equally popularly as the Image of my own self, or as me!” said Shiva.“And in abundance, with some variance, across many lands, from a long time .”
“Hmm…yes,” said Sati.
Shiva smiled. “The Shivlinga means many things at many realms, each true for that level of subtlety. It is a symbolic representation of absolute transcendence, Omkaar, the impersonal God leading to esoteric and spiritual understanding.”
“I see.”
“Whereas, in my Yogi roop,” Shiva continued, “Worshipers consider the immanence of God personified; the personal God, you know, the one with all the stories and folklore they sing of.”
“Yes. You are One storied person!” said Sati.
“The Shivlinga means to convey that the transcendent pervades the manifest world as immanence,” Shiva continued.
“Oh,” said Sati.
“It is how the ancient rishis conceived God in His unborn, invisible form as the Shiva Lingam. It is worshipped equally popularly as the Image of my own self, or as me!” said Shiva.“And in abundance, with some variance, across many lands, from a long time .”
“Hmm…yes,” said Sati.
“Like
I said, the Shivlinga means different things to different people.And the highest
understanding is this:
God In His formless existence is not knowable to anyone, even the bhaktas cannot know that transcendent Godhood, because it is unfathomable in its pristine realm of infinity. It however, becomes knowable in the finite world it creates and pervades…” Shiva held Sati close to Himself.
“Shivlinga—there is no beginning and there is no end, one cannot find its source, nor can one find where it finishes...crosses all boundaries of time and thought,” sighed Sati.
“Yes. That's the transcendent. But how does the transcendent measure itself? Through the immanent, or the manifest world. "“So how does the Shivlinga personify this? I mean, the construction and design of the Shivlinga; how does it do that…” Sati asked.
“The Linga, the upper column, is transcendence. The lower receptacle is Yoni,
The cosmic womb, the manifest world. Altogether, the Shivlinga means to convey
that the transcendent pervades the manifest world as Immanence, as I just told
you. This also gave the rishis some insight into ‘Why does God create the world?’God In His formless existence is not knowable to anyone, even the bhaktas cannot know that transcendent Godhood, because it is unfathomable in its pristine realm of infinity. It however, becomes knowable in the finite world it creates and pervades…” Shiva held Sati close to Himself.
“Shivlinga—there is no beginning and there is no end, one cannot find its source, nor can one find where it finishes...crosses all boundaries of time and thought,” sighed Sati.
“Yes. That's the transcendent. But how does the transcendent measure itself? Through the immanent, or the manifest world. "“So how does the Shivlinga personify this? I mean, the construction and design of the Shivlinga; how does it do that…” Sati asked.
“Why indeed?” asked Sati.
The Shivlinga therefore, tells us that God creates this world, and then enters it Himself, in order to know Himself, explore Himself, and this is His great leela,” replied Shiva.
“So then, is the Shivlinga a symbol of God’s creativity?” asked Sati.
“Yes,” said Shiva.“The Shivlinga is the symbol of us both in harmony, God and His power to create. It also represents the perfect balance of yin and yang, potential and kinetic, male and female energy, and so, Shiva and Shakti itself.”
~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. by Shail Gulhati
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